Busey Bank Trims Stake in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Busey Bank lessened its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,360 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $13,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in Discover Financial Services by 147.8% in the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 72.5% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 348.2% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:DFS opened at $143.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.46. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $79.04 and a fifty-two week high of $152.90.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.92%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Discover Financial Services in a research report on Saturday, October 19th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Discover Financial Services from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Discover Financial Services currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.12.

Discover Financial Services Profile

Discover Financial Services, through its subsidiaries, provides digital banking products and services, and payment services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Digital Banking and Payment Services. The Digital Banking segment offers Discover-branded credit cards to individuals; personal loans, home loans, and other consumer lending; and direct-to-consumer deposit products comprising savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, IRA certificates of deposit, IRA savings accounts and checking accounts, and sweep accounts.